A local school girl has vowed to conquer her fear of heights to take part in a thrilling aerial display at Paisley Halloween Festival 2018 – going 120 feet above the ground!

Bethany Docherty, 14, from Johnstone, is one of the young volunteers at the heart of this year’s Halloween spooktacular, which is a major event in Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018 celebrations.

Bethany is training with leading aerial dance theatre company, All or Nothing, and will be part of the spectacular routines which will thrill crowds throughout the evening.

All or Nothing has choreographed a dance piece involving 50 young people for a Flying Witches performance around Paisley Town Hall and Abbey. The professional performers will soar up to 120 feet high, while the young people will perform up to 20 feet off the ground.

The fourth year Castlehead High School pupil says the whole experience has given her a confidence boost – as well as helping her beat her phobia.

Bethany said: “I’m actually terrified of heights but I’m pushing myself. I need to get over it one way or another and it’s better I do it with my own will.

“I wanted to take part because I thought it would be fun and I wanted to put myself a bit more out there.

“If I get to perform on the night it will be scary but amazing and just very energising.

“The biggest challenge for me has actually been coming along to the Halloween meetings for young people and socialising, but people have been very supportive.”

All or Nothing’s director, Jennifer Paterson said: “Getting involved in aerial is a great way to conquer your fears and it’s good to have a healthy respect for heights.

“It’s been great to work with young people who are part of Paisley to co-create something quite magical for this year’s Halloween Festival.”

The festival, supported by the Year of Young People 2018 event fund managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, has been significantly enhanced for the themed year. From aerial dancing and circus skills to photography and rigging the lights, young people are at the forefront of the Paisley event.

Watch the video with Bethany, above, as she talks more about overcoming her fear of heights to take part in this year’s festival.

My name is Mairie Schwarz. As a student of Paisley’s twin town I’ve been living in Fürth since I moved from my parents home in July 2017. Paisley and Fürth have been twin towns since 1969 – and they have so many amazing similarities.

At first I thought it would be a boring town with a lot of fine old buildings which facades are now peeling away. The city adjoins the large city of Nuremberg, just as Paisley is very near to Glasgow.

Surprisingly, I discovered that there is a lot more to Fürth than I first thought. Now you can witness a lot of new business emerging in its town centre and the wider region. Moreover, there are many stunning sights waiting for you to explore. Similar to Paisley, Fürth has a outstanding historic heritage and understated beauty – and wide range of restaurants to delight every taste. Whether you go on a rustic pub crawl in winter or soak up the beer garden atmosphere on Gustavstraße in Summer – you’re in for a treat.

Today, I can tell you that I really love living in this absolutely beautiful city, because I fell in love with its unique charm and the quirkiness of the city’s people. And that’s why I want to show you some of its nicest places and their similarities to Paisley’s gems in this blog.

Architecture and Historical Buildings

Fürth is more than a thousand years old and blessed with over 2000 historical buildings – that’s more than any other Bavarian city in proportion to its inhabitants. Paisley is also well known for its rich built heritage and has more listed buildings of anywhere in Scotland outside of Edinburgh.

In my first Blog I already showed you a picture of our Town Hall – a monumental building which was cunstructed between 1840 and 1850 in the neo-classical style. Its 180 feet tower is the landmark of the city of Fürth. With a little touch of imagination it could remind you of a mixture of the Anchor Mill and the clock tower of the Paisley Town Hall, don’t you think?

Fürth Town Hall – Photo owned by the City of Fürth

Paisley Town Hall

Paisley’s Anchor Mill

Please have a look inside our Council Chamber. It has been designed and furnished with a loving attention to detail.

Fürth Council Chambers – Photo owned by Alena Rögner

Next I want to show a picture of our beautiful St Michael’s Church which is the oldest edifice in Fürth. The beginnings of this fortified church date back to 1100. The small market town, St Michael’s is just a simple, unadorned village church. The tower with its west portal, the chancel and the south entrance are from the gothic period. The interior is in 19th century neo-gothic style. However, it strongly reminds me of the Oakshaw Trinity Church – the highest point of Paisley’s townscape.

St Michael’s Church Fürth – Photo owned by Louisa Mahon

Paisley’s Oakshaw Trinity Church

Aside from that the beautiful architecture at Paisley’s High Street  – for example the Liberal Club designed by James Donald in 1886 – has got common features to Fürth’s High Street called Schwabacher Straße, but also to Fürth’s Hornschuchpromenade/Königswarterstraße. This outstanding promenade is unique in Fürth. From 1883 to 1904, prestigious stately homes with rich sandstone ornaments were built for Fürth’s upper classes. At this time, the green central reservation was used by the Ludwig railway – living close the the railway tracks was considered fashionable. Fun Fact: The first German railway “Adler” (eagle) took to the tracks between Nuremberg and Fürth in 1835.

Fürth’s Hornschuchpromenade/Königswarterstraße – Photo by the City of Fürth

Fürth’s Schwabacher Straße – Photo owned by the City of Fürth

Paisley Y.M.C.A.

St Mirin Statue Paisley

Fürth is a wellkown place for Franconian Comedy, too. This former institute of adult education – built in 1904 – may remind you of Paisley’s St. Matthew’s church or the Paisley Arts Centre, because they are also places for indoor theatre, music and comedy events. Today, the renovated art nouveau buildings home to the playhouse, restaurant and scene bistro of Fürth “Comödie” and more resently to the Grüner brewery. Its unique in-house productions attract attention far beyond the city borders.

Comödie Fürth

Paisley Art Centre

St Matthew’s Church Paisley

Rivers and the City

I live in the the south-end of Fürth and it’s really a nice place to settle down, because my flat is located right next to the river Rednitz, where you can find traces of the old river bath. It joins with my favourite home river Pegnitz which comes from the bigger city Nueremberg to form the important Franconian River Regnitz to the northwest of the old town. The Main-Danube Canal is to the west of the town. You can definetly compare these waters to the White Cart River and the the Forth and Clyde Canal.

River Rednitz in Fürth – Photo owned by Alena Rögner

White Cart River in Paisley

Events and Parades

It’s hard to compare a German beer festival to a specific fesitval in Scotland, such as our town’s festival “Michaeliskirchweih” – which is celebrated each October for almost 900 years. But I think Paisley’s Food and Drink Festival and Weave and Sma’ Shot Day celebrations are as close as it gets to our grand steet festival, with its charming mixture of market and funfair. It always comes with a big parade supported by local groups. Similar to Paisley, there are many other events you can go to as well, such as the New Orleans Music Festival, the literature festival LESEN!, classic open air events, two Christmas markets and the “Grafflmarkt” (flea market).

Kerwa Fireworks -Photo owned by www.michaelis-kirchweih.de

Paisley’s Food and Drink Festival

If you’re interested to learn more about your sister town Fürth, please check out Fürth impressions or Cloverleaf impressions. Thanks a lot for reading!

Take to the skies in an Airbus, hop on-board a Virgin train or sit inside a Jaguar and your comfort comes courtesy of a local manufacturer whose story pre-dates even the Paisley pattern.

For Bridge of Weir Leather – which can trace its roots to 1758 – supplies the finest leather to the greatest global brands as part of Scottish Leather Group. The group boasts a £150million turnover and has more than 660 employees, including an academy supporting the next generation.

Scottish Leather Group Director is James Lang, born in Paisley and now living in Kilmacolm. We asked James, chair of Renfrewshire’s Economic Leadership Panel, to share his story and outline what he sees as key to the area’s future economic success.

“The family connection is why I’m here. I had an older cousin who was destined to come into the business, before Scottish Leather Group was established, in Langs in Paisley. He got given a round the world ticket for his 18th, reached Australia and never came back, so I wasn’t allowed out the town, never mind out the country.

I wanted to be a lawyer, but father decreed I was far too stupid for that, so I went into the tannery, working on the shop floor. I went on to study in Northampton at the only place that teaches leather technology in the whole of the English-speaking world.

When I came back, I found it very difficult working with my father and my uncle as I was expected to know everything, so after a while I was dispatched to Glasgow to Andrew Muirhead and Son. I eventually became Managing Director there and ten years ago I transferred to Scottish Leather Group.

We have invested heavily in all of our sites and continue to do so. We are now the largest leather manufacturer in the UK and we try to adopt best practice in everything we do. We have a lower carbon footprint than any other company in the leather industry which is ground-breaking.

We’re very proud of our academy which is now on the fourth intake of apprentices. Those guys who have come through that process are our best ambassadors, every one of them. They are getting opportunities in manufacturing, that their parents didn’t get, like studying at university.

“There is now a general concensus that we can achieve something special…”

Manufacturing now offers high-skilled, high-tech career opportunities and I’m delighted that the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland is coming to Renfrewshire. It’s exciting to have manufacturing innovation based locally and the development of the advanced manufacturing district by the airport will put Renfrewshire out in front.

I see Renfrewshire as up and coming and there’s a positivity that wasn’t there before as a result of the excellent bid for UK City of Culture. We are keen that we as a company play our part in what’s happening.

I’m quite clear we have to make Paisley a destination where people want to go and where they can achieve something they couldn’t do elsewhere. We’re starting to do that through the cultural events and now we must go further and be braver, getting people to make things in Paisley that are unique to us and even better that celebrate our heritage, whether that’s leather handbags or paisley patterned products.

There is now a general consensus that we can achieve something special and the economic leadership panel, with such diverse interests represented, provides an opportunity to work together towards a common goal.

I see the council focused on the issues, people’s attitudes are changing and business leaders have a view now that we can make a difference. When businesses are talking to each other and working with each other, then better things will happen.

Hi, my name is Valerija and I have joined Renfrewshire Council’s events team this Halloween as a creative intern.

I will be working alongside the events team and young people from across Renfrewshire to help shape and deliver this year’s Halloween spooktacular!

My journey began in Latvia and took me all the way to Scotland when I was 14 years old. For over 10 years now I have lived, studied, and worked in Renfrewshire. It has become a place close to my heart and a place I can now call my second home.

What makes Paisley/Renfrewshire a great place to visit/live/invest/study/work?

Paisley has a lot to offer to residents and town’s visitors; beautiful architecture, talented artists and musicians, creative communities, delicious food and great local events.

As a creative individual myself, I love how diverse in creativity Paisley is. Everywhere you go you will stumble on to some form of talent or artistry, buskers, murals, performances etc. Having a walk around the town you most likely will make new discoveries and findings about the town.

What are you looking forward to about Paisley Halloween Festival 2018?

Halloween is one of the biggest and most anticipated events of the year and I am delighted to be part of it.

One of the things I am looking forward to the most is Working with Young People from across Renfrewshire. I think it is going to be an amazing project of intergenerational effort to deliver a high-end event. I also believe this opportunity will allow young people of Renfrewshire to be more involved with Renfrewshire’s future.

I have already met some of the young voices who will help us form the event at the first Events Youth Panel Meeting. We have managed to take on amazing characters with creative minds, who no doubt will have great input and help deliver an amazing experience to all the event visitors.

I am excited to be working with creative professionals and Renfrewshire youth behind the scenes of the event and see how it all comes together. It will be interesting to see how people of different ages will develop their ideas to shape and deliver Halloween Spectacular.

How have you have been involved in co-designing this year’s Paisley Halloween Festival?

I am joining events team as a Creative Intern for the Halloween Festival. My role as a creative Intern will be focused on and around young people engagement for this year’s Halloween.

I will assist in coordinating and supporting the Events Youth Panel, 20 young people from around Renfrewshire who will help shape Halloween Event together with the events team.

I also will be supporting the youth engagement programme leading up to and through Halloween festival. We have an amazing creative partners who will run number of workshops with young people to help them to develop new skills, learn something new, build friendships and do something fun around Renfrewshire.

Working for Paisley Halloween Festival I will be able to gain valuable insight into the world of events and learn everything from marketing strategies, community engagement and event delivery.

What makes the area special?

Paisley offers range of different attractions to people of all ages and gives you an opportunity to explore Renfrewshire as a whole.

Paisley is town full of history and culture, surrounded by beautiful buildings and friendly people. Here you can discover fascinating stories of Paisley witches and learn everything about famous Paisley Pattern.

If someone was visiting here, where would you recommend they go?

I would highly recommend for everyone to come and visit Paisley. It is easy to tour, and you most definitely will capture some great sights and memories.

While exploring, it is very easy to stumble on some hidden gems. One of my personal favourites is a stunning giant Kingfisher mural at the heart of Paisley Town by Mark Worst and Ross Dinnett.

No matter the season, Paisley always offers a wide range of events and celebrations for everyone. So, when you visit paisley don’t be afraid to come and celebrate one of the local events together with the town’s residents, have fun and experience Paisley in its full glory.

If you are looking for a thrill, excitement and a good time, you must come and take part in this year’s Halloween Festival – it’s going to be an unforgettable experience! 

When we say, ‘Paisley is…’, how you would finish the sentence?

A town full of discoveries, excitement, fun and adventure.

My name is Mairie Schwarz and I’m becoming a civil servant of Fürth town council.

Fürth is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany – which is just a wee bit bigger than Paisley. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, which is fittingly the twin city of Glasgow.

In my last year of the Bavarian three-year graduate programme in public administration for municipal civil service, I was given the opportunity to join the events team of Renfrewshire Council as an exchange student from September until the end of November this year.

Paisley and Fürth have been officially twinned since 1969 and are still striving to strengthen their links in the future. That’s why I’m gladly supporting the events team, inter alia, organising a special event to celebrate the 50^th anniversary next year.

Fortunately, I came just at the right time to help to promote Paisley’s great Halloween spectacle as well. I’m really looking forward seeing how all the young people are getting involved in creating a terrific performance at this year’s Halloween Parade. I’m also thrilled to experience the light effects throughout the town centre. I’m sure the 21CC Group will generate a spooktacular scene for this event.

As well as the internship, I’m greatly enjoying the outdoors of Renfrewshire. I love spending time outside and discovering the rich cultural heritage Renfrewshire, and especially Paisley has to offer. You must look around and you can see so many listed buildings and historical monuments. For example, the stunning Coats Memorial Church or the beautiful Town Hall lit up for events like the Scottish Album of the Year Awards – which I was thrilled to attend in my first week here. There are also a lot of nearby protected areas and country parks to visit. A nice walk in green places such as the Castle Semple gives me health and a great deal of well-being each time.

I can only emphasize that it is a pleasure to be here for the next three months. And I’m honestly hoping I will understand your charming accent soon. It’s hard, but I’m getting there.

Paisley is thriving since so many young people contribute new ideas for reshaping and promoting it.

Award-winning photographer Gary Chittick shows you some of Paisley and Renfrewshire’s stunning buildings and architecture that he’s captured on camera.

In Paisley and Renfrewshire, we live in an area steeped in history and for photographers this gives us a wide range of subjects to study and capture. There is no doubt there are a large number of historical buildings and sites of interest that I have yet to discover but this is because we are really spoiled for choice in our area.

Recently there has been a real focus on the history, traditions and culture of Renfrewshire’s buildings, people, events, creations and overall contribution to the world. This is something everyone can be positive about and contribute to, in an effort to help tell our story to a wider audience around the world.

I thought I’d share a few of my images from Renfrewshire showing my take on some of the more common and recognisable historical buildings in the area. As always, if you have any questions, suggestions, recommendations or challenges, please feel free to get in touch with our PaisleyIs team.

Paisley Abbey and Town Hall

The first image is all about two of the most recognisable and famous buildings in Paisley, the Town Hall and Paisley Abbey. Opened in 1882, the Town Hall has a well known history of staging concerts, including by Paisley’s own Paolo Nutini and a celebration of the music of Gerry Rafferty amongst many others. It’s well known that Paisley’s annual beer festival is also held in the venue as well as a whole range of other performances, business and cultural events and weddings too!

Paisley Abbey is an iconic building in the town. From the initial foundations in 1163 to the present day, the Abbey has been a mainstay of Paisley’s landscape. Everyone who has attended the Abbey for events such as Paolo Nutini’s homecoming charity concert as part of Paisley’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021 and headline acts as part of The Spree festival cannot fail to have been impressed at the scale, detail and history in the fabric of the building. Find out more information on Paisley Abbey and details of the rediscovered Abbey Drain.

The image was taken on a recent warm, late summer night when one of nature’s special shows – noctilucent clouds put in an appearance, shining electric blue over the skyline. I thought it provided a nice backdrop to two of our most famous, historical buildings.

Paisley Skyline

This image carries on from looking at Paisley Abbey and shows you the view from the roof over some of our famous skyline. How many of the spires, towers, domes and roofs can you recognise? There is not much more I can say other than the view we have from here is spectacular and one to take some time enjoying. If only we could have a time-lapse from the same spot over the last few centuries, we would see how Paisley has changed and evolved over time.

If you get the chance to ascend the winding stairs to the roof, I highly recommend it. Look out for Doors Open Days again in September and enjoy some fantastic, free access to the Abbey and quite a few of the buildings you can see in this image. Find out more about Renfrewshire’s Doors Open Days.

Anchor Mill

When we think about history, it’s impossible to ignore Paisley’s world famous links to thread making. I’m sure there are very few people who haven’t heard of the influence that the families of the Coats and the Clarks and their mill complexes have had on the town, both before and after their amalgamation in 1896. Built in 1886, Grade A listed Anchor Mill was part of the huge complex that extended all the way along to Mile End Mill. Whilst the Ferguslie Mills concentrated on the main manufacturing processes, the Anchor site concentrated on the finishing aspects.

We have a fantastic legacy of this important aspect of Paisley’s history via a whole range of events and cultural organisations in the town including the fantastic Paisley Thread Mill Museum (Link opens in a new tab). Now called Anchor One, this building continues to live on in the town, providing a home to families and businesses and I particularly enjoy this view of the building looking over the River Cart. I hope you do too.

Thomas Coats Memorial Church

This isn’t my usual style and won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but I decided to show the building this way to try and get across the drama, size, scale and depth of the building. Completed in 1894, everyone will have spotted the unique spired gothic design from somewhere in the town or further afield at some point.

Only last week I took advantage of one of the last Friday public viewing opportunities and explored the history inside the building. I was utterly impressed and awestruck at the intricate detail and construction inside the building and the historical pictures, plans and artefacts that are on display. With the building due to close at the end of August there are only a few more opportunities to see it in its current form. I really urge you to get down and show support to one of the most iconic buildings in our town. Find out more about the Coats Memorial Church.

Kenmure Hill Temple/Tower

The reason I’ve chosen this final one is because anyone travelling up and down the A737 between Linwood and Lochwinnoch or been on the train between Paisley and Ayrshire will have noticed the “tower on the hill” at some point as they approach/pass Howwood and Lochwinnoch.

I had never been up there before and after some quick research I found out that it’s an easy walk up from the Semple Trail, via the cycle path to the octagonal tower. The grassy slopes are easy to navigate and when you get up to the tower, you can see what amazing 360° views it has. The view down to Castle Semple Loch is fantastic and in the other direction, Paisley and Glasgow stretch away to the East.

You can stand inside the tower and imagine how it may have been used (there is no definitive history about its exact use with opinions ranging from use as a watchtower or shelter to simply being part of a larger series of buildings). It was built around 1760 and is a terrific, short walk if you are in the area.

You can find some more information here (Link opens in a new tab).

Remember to share your adventures on social media with #PaisleyIs.

There are lots of other events on in Paisley and around Renfrewshire over the next few months and you can check these out at www.paisley.is

Samuel Yerokun of Action for Culture and Ethics is one of the organisers of Africa-Paisley 2021 , and took some time out ahead of the event to talk about his adopted town.

Tell us about yourself and what you do

I study Computer Animation Arts at the University of the West of Scotland.

Prior to starting my study in 2016, I led the Association of African Community in Renfrewshire (AACR) from 2011 – 2015 and during which time Renfrewshire Gospel Choir was set up in conjunction with Diane Mitchell School of Music, planned and coordinated Renfrewshire’s diversity events during the 2014 Queen’s Baton Relay/Commonwealth Games and led a session of the ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ as a representative member of the Diversity and Equality Alliance in Renfrewshire.

I served as the Community Ambassador (through CRER – Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights) to gather the views of the BME communities in Renfrewshire in the lead up to the drafting of the new Equality Framework for Scotland by the Scottish government.

I am a member of both Creative Renfrewshire and Paisley West & Central Community Council. I am one of the directors of the PaisleyFM and currently heads Action for Culture and Ethics which is handling the AFRICA – PAISLEY 2021 cultural celebration.

I relocated from London in 2007 in the course of seeking a more spacious environment for my young family and lived briefly around the Hillington area. The search for a place to use for our church fellowship around 2009 led me to Paisley (as I am also a Gospel minister) where we located the abandoned No 16 Wellmeadow Street property, formerly used by Adelphi Missions, and carried out the initial renovation to bring it back to good use.

What makes Paisley a great place to live and study?

Paisley is great to live and study as it is not a too-busy town, although will love to see a bit of more activities. It’s a place where work-life and family-life can be well-balanced. Residents still go about to enjoy their evenings.

What makes the area special?

Paisley is loaded with heritage sites and deep histories. Paisley also shares a historical heritage with my area of Africa (among others) with its historical weaving industry.

If someone was visiting here, where would you recommend they go?

Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church, The Observatory, Paisley Abbey, the Museum, Weaver’s Cottage.

The best hidden gem or untold story in Paisley is…

I think the town’s diversity should be celebrated.

When we say ‘Paisley is…’, how you would finish the sentence?

‘’……..the place to be’’. Paisley/Renfrewshire is a developing area, with many untapped potentials.

Paisley’s spectacular Grand Fountain has inspired this fab short film from the local STAR Project.

The fountain was restored to its full glory in 2014 and has won loads of awards since. It’s also won a place in the hearts of local people over the years, and this film explores why, here in Paisley, ‘we are the walrus!’.

We don’t need to say too much more – just watch and enjoy…

We are the Walrus from mandy mcintosh on Vimeo.

It’s a goal every fan of the Scottish national football team remembers fondly – regardless of how old you are.

Whether you joined the Tartan Army on the road to Argentina, supported the team from home or you weren’t even born yet, the footage of Archie Gemmill’s goal against the Netherlands at the 1978 World Cup is engrained in the memory of every Scotland fan.

The 2018 World Cup marks 40 years since THAT wonderful goal in the 3-2 victory over the Netherlands in Mendoza.

The sight of the Paisley-born midfielder gliding past three defenders before sprinting into the box and curling a left footed strike past Dutch goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed is bound to leave you grinning from ear to ear.

While the tournament may have ended in disappointment for the Scots – who needed to win by three clear goals to progress from the group stages – Gemmill’s goal is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever scored at the World Cup.

It was a sublime moment in an illustrious career which saw Gemmill lift the European Cup and three English league titles.

During his career, Gemmill would play for hometown club St Mirren, Preston North End, Derby County, Nottingham Forest, Birmingham City, Jacksonville Tea Men and Wigan Athletic, before a second spell at Derby.

The midfielder collected 47 caps for his country, scoring eight goals and captaining the side 22 times.

As the 2018 World Cup gets underway in Russia, look back on Gemmill’s stunning strike from Argentina ‘78 with the video above.

Then see the goal recreated using LEGO and stop-motion animation by local filmmaker Morgan Spence below. The talented teenager created the video in support of Paisley’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021.